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NCAA.com | September 21, 2013

Roundup: No. 3 Armstrong handed first loss

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Grand Valley State 2, Ashland 0

ASHLAND, Ohio -- In its first match as No. 1, Grand Valley State lived up to its national ranking. The Lakers held Ashland to just three shots on goal for a 2-0 victory in their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opener.

GVSU's defense led the way once again. For just the third time in program history, the Lakers have not surrendered a goal through their first four games. Ashland never came close to ending the shutout streak. Only one of the Eagles' three shots actually made it to senior goalkeeper Abbey Miller, who made a routine save.

The defense got plenty of help, though, and it came early in the match. Junior forward Jenny Shaba scored her first goal of the 2013 campaign at the 5:15 mark of the opening half. Less than four minutes later, freshman defender Erika Bradfield scored her first goal as a Laker. Bradfield finished off a crossing pass from fellow freshman Kendra Stauffer to extend Grand Valley State's lead to 2-0.

Bradfield, Autumn Jacobs, Kayla Kimble, Juane Odendaal and Tayler Ward were the starting defenders for the Lakers. The group held Ashland without a shot in the opening 45 minutes and only yielded three shots in the second half.

Meanwhile, GVSU managed to pile up 10 shots in the opening frame. The Lakers finished with 12 shots, seven of which were on goal. Shaba notched a game-high five shots.

The win brings Grand Valley State's overall record to 3-0-1. Top-ranked Grand Valley State is now 1-0-0 in league play and will stay on the road for its next three conference games.

No. 24 Columbus State 2, No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic 0

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- For the first time in the history of the Columbus State program, the Lady Cougars were victorious against a top-five ranked opponent. On Friday night, No. 24 CSU defeated No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic 2-0 in both teams' Peach Belt Conference opener at the Walden Soccer Complex.

In its previous 10 matches against top-five foes, Columbus State was 0-9-1 including two losses this season.

Columbus State (3-2-0, 1-0-0 PBC) had the first scoring chance in the match as freshman Nicole Corcione fired a shot wide right in the 19th minute and just 10 seconds later sent one wide to the left. Armstrong (2-1-2, 0-1-0) didn't have a strong threat in the first half but Brianne Matarazzo did fire a shot from long distance that Meosha Hatcher had to save in the 43rd minute. Mary Margaret Davis ended the half with a shot that went wide.

Coming out of the break, the two teams picked up the intensity as both sides took shots within the first two minutes of the second half.

In the 52nd minute, Corcione took control of the ball and dribbled down the left side of the field and made her way into the box. She then played the ball back to Chelsea Person who chipped the ball over Morgan Luckie in net to give CSU a 1-0 lead. It was the first goal by Columbus State against Armstrong since 2009, a span stretching six full matches and more than 640 minutes.

Armstrong didn't go quietly, however, as the Pirates went on the attack from there. In the 67th minute, the Pirates made a dangerous cross into CSU's box where an attacker found the ball and slipped it into the net. However, she was called offside and the goal was disallowed. Just two minutes later, Sarah Olin took a shot about 25 yards out that went just high of the crossbar for the Pirates.

In the 78th minute, CSU was on the attack when a long ball was played to Person. Person headed the ball over the charging Luckie when the two players collided causing a stoppage in play. Luckie was sent off with a red card and backup goalkeeper Maggie Carson replaced her. On the proceeding free kick, Shelby Rolling sent a shot over the wall of Pirate defenders into the upper-left portion of the net. It was the sophomore's first goal of the season.

Armstrong had one final attack in the 84th minute but Hatcher denied the shot and the follow-up shot was wide to the right.

The Lady Cougars snapped a six-match winless streak against Armstrong with the victory. Armstrong outshot CSU 12-11 in the contest with nine of those coming in the second half. Hatcher picked up three saves as she improved to 3-0-0 this season.

Junior Sam Weiss recorded her second goal of the season when she found the back of the net at 107:17. Weiss' goal came from freshman Courtney Riley's pass through the middle which led Weiss to a one-on-one situation with Regis. Both of Weiss' goals this year have been game-winning goals.

The shutout win keeps the Skyhawks' winning and shutout streaks to five, as they start the 2013 season with a 5-0-0 record (1-0-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference).

Ranked No. 7 in the latest coaches' poll, the Skyhawks out shot Regis 20-9 (10-2 shots on goal). Fort Lewis was strong offensively in both overtime periods, holding the Rangers without a shot while racking up six of their own.

Sophomore Caitlyn Espinosa, the reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, made two saves in goal as she also collected her fifth consecutive shutout.